Schools
BGHS Helps Freshmen Prepare For High School
New students got a sneak peek last week at Buffalo Grove High School. The new school year begins Tuesday.
About 500 new students got their first taste of Friday at freshman orientation, and judging by some comments and expressions on their faces, the newbies were pretty psyched about what they saw.
“This is fantastic,” said freshman Maria Hamilton, as she stood in the school’s cafeteria, near the center of a loud crowd of new friends.
“I love it,” Vlade Yarynka, a junior transfer student from Kentucky, said with a broad grin on his face as he sat in the school auditorium awaiting the official greeting from school officials, led by Principal Carol Burlinski.
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The program, which was put together by the school’s Freshman Advisory Program, also included a lengthy tour of the building led by advisory members and members of the school’s Peer Counseling Program, meetings with the counselors and an invite to a barbecue after the event and Bison Jamboree.
Kate Konkel, who coordinates the advisory program, said orientation is designed to help freshman begin their high school careers on the right foot.
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“The idea is to transition them into high school in a very positive way,” she said.
Members of the advisory program serve as mentors and friends to freshman, answering questions and showing them around the school.
“Sometimes [freshmen] can walk into this building and they get lost. They don’t know where to go, they don’t know who people are. And they don’t have anyone to go to. The older kids are willing to help them out.”
Advisory member Danielle Tolvstead, a junior from Buffalo Grove, recalled her own early days at the high school.
“I was scared,” she said. “I came from a small school and this school was so big. “
She said she and fellow advisory members want to “help [new students] become more familiar with the school.”
Julia Buchholz, a senior, and Jamie Hillner, a junior, guided one small group of new students through the maze of classrooms and hallways that make up the school, pointing out lockers, freshmen hallways and gathering areas.
As the tour entered the spacious library, gasps of “Oh, wow” and “cool” were heard.
Freshman Stephanie Amador said the tour helped her feel at home.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, a smile on her face.
